Share & Voice: Whole Foods Co-Op

For Dr. Tornabene's class this afternoon, we had taken a field trip to the Whole Foods Co-Op... Originally, this was NOT my idea of a fun field trip but in reality, I had learned a lot more about the structure of the building, the types of food the co-op has available and the cooking classes.

First of all, the Co-Op is a MEMBERS owned grocery store which is really neat! If you're interested in become a member/owner, it is a $100 "entry" fee and from there you are able to attend member meetings and decide what is and is not allowed in the store for purchase. Examples of things that the co-op does not sell are items with high fructose corn syrup, produce that has pesticide residue and certain non-organic foods. In 2005, the co-op decision makers board was 2,500 members strong and is still growing!

"When WFC made the move down 4th Street, the Board of Directors set aside funds for an outdoor art display. This artwork was intended to be a “permanent” installation for the public good on the exterior of our store.Local artist Ron Benson was chosen from the seven excellent presentations received. His design, incorporating recycled glass (most of it from the demolished Two Harbors High School), non-toxic coloring agents and a water theme made this particular design stand out. It was clearly representative of our mission, both in design and material use.



In the fall of 2008, the recycled glass mural was installed on the east end of the store, wrapping around the entrance area. A contest was held by Mr. Benson to allow a co-op Member-Owner to name the piece. In January 2009, the name selected was “The Great Lake”, submitted by Bonnie Summers."

As I already mentioned, many of the foods that the Co-Op carries are certified organic. If a food is not certified organic, there will be a RED sign labeling it that tells you it is not organic, but will still list where the food had come from. What's really cool about the listing of where the produce item or whatever it may be, came from, the produce manager is able to look up the exact truck that brought the food in and what farm it was grown in. Now, if you're in the produce area and there is organic and non-organic foods, you will NEVER see non-organic food that is not packaged and stored above organic foods. This is so that organic food items DO NOT become contaminated by non-organic food and their pesticides. :)

At the beginning of this post I had mentioned cooking classes. When we were brought down to the basement of the Co-Op, there was a room we were brought into specifically for cooking classes. In that room, they built everything by using green produces! It's was really neat and the classes are something I would be interested in... For more information about these check out this website: http://www.wholefoods.coop/dw/Classes.shtml

Now the Co-Op has SO many more things to offer that I didn't cover in this post, but I suggest you check out their website! My visit and tour has definitely made me want to shop there more often! :)

http://www.wholefoods.coop/